Shenandoah National Park Trust 2016 Impact Report

SHENANDOAH 2016 IMPACT REPORT

NATIONAL PARK TRUST

“...with an open fire to cook by, with the

smell of woods and the wind in the trees, [visitors to Shenandoah National Park] will forget the rush and the strain of all the other long weeks of the year, and for a short time at least, the days will be good for their bodies and good for their souls.”

–President Franklin D. Roosevelt at the dedication of ShenandoahNational Park, July 3, 1936

I am humbled by your devotion to Shenandoah National Park and your support of the Trust. And I hope you will take pride in knowing that the Trust is held up within the National Park Service as a model partner organization: we collaborate effectively with our park colleagues, we direct your philanthropic dollars to address Shenandoah’s most critical needs across all aspects of park operations, and we document the impact of your investment.

The Trust closed out 2016 in a position of excellent financial health, thanks to you. With your continued support, we will continue to deliver strong results in 2017.

Thank you,

Last summer, the Trust staff hiked to the Riprap swimming hole in the park’s South District.

Wading in the cool water, shaded by the trees above, I felt entirely at peace and entirely at home. That moment made me think about the personal connection so many of us feel to Shenandoah National Park. No matter your ability level, you can find a part of the park to make your own, whether it’s a trail through the wilderness, an overlook on Skyline Drive or a pond in the woods.

Your connection to Shenandoah and the Trust mean so much to us. This is a remarkably special place. Your financial gift means that your park can continue to be a gift to everyone who visits here.

With gratitude,

David Aldrich Chairman of the Board

Susan Sherman President

FUTURE GENERATIONS

ENGAGED

13,254

YOUTH IN EDUCATION AND

OUTREACH EVENTS

You may not know her personally, but you should know that you changed a teenager’s life. Michelle* spent a week in Shenandoah National Park last summer at our Service Learning Camp, thanks to your philanthropy.

She arrived with trepidation, never having slept in a tent, hiked a mountain or undertaken volunteer work.

Michelle was transformed in Shenandoah. She discovered the joys of quiet, green spaces and dark night skies ablaze with stars.

She learned about the relationship between nature and people.

Michelle returned to school in the

fall a new person. Among a largely disenfranchised student body, she emerged as a vocal advocate for recycling and energy conservation.

Michelle is now considering a future career in the National Park Service.

Your philanthropy changes lives.

*Not camper’s real name

INSPIRE

WILDLIFE & WILD LANDS

PLANTED

2,041 NATIVE TREES & GRASSES

Your partnership means more hemlocks saved from a tree-killing insect. It means more acres re-planted with native trees and grasses. It means more suitable berries and acorns for black bear, and greater resilience from climate change.

Your philanthropy in 2016 allowed us to significantly broaden the reach of our Forest Health Initiative. In addition to combatting fast-growing, invasive plants that choke out native habitat (like tree of heaven, mile-aminute vine and Japanese stilt grass), we directed your funds to control two exotic insects—the hemlock woolly

adelgid and the emerald ash borer— to protect threatened tree species.

You also helped advance the Blue Ridge PRISM’s goal of halting the spread of non-native plant species across a 2.5 million-acre zone surrounding the park. Your philanthropy protects wildlife and restores wild lands.

PRESER VE

PEOPLE TO THEIR PARK

1,444,000

SHENANDOAH VISITORS CONNECTED WITH THEIR PARK IN 2016

Hawksbill Mountain, the highest peak in Shenandoah, commands stunning views of the Shenandoah Valley. By funding the restoration of the crumbling observation platform at Hawksbill’s summit, you re-connected park visitors with the awe and emotion of experiencing a sweeping mountaintop panorama. Now, the restored platform better serves the thousands of people who climb Hawksbill every year. And it provides a premier vantage point for Park Rangers to connect with visitors during talks about viewsheds and night skies.

Philanthropy in 2016 also connected park visitors to a piece of park history.

We dedicated our third TRACK Trail at Fox Hollow Trail in the North

District. Families can now engage in activities to learn about the Fox family who lived and worked this land before it became a national park.

CONNECT

UNDERSTANDING OF OUR PARK’S 200,000 ACRES

185 TYPES OF

POLLINATORS

IDENTIFIED

Shenandoah National Park is a fascinating living laboratory whose complexities we are always discovering. We rely on you to help unearth new information. By funding annual research fellowships, you enhance our understanding of Shenandoah’s natural communities and the history of these mountains. In turn, these studies inform how the Park’s 200,000 acres are managed. Your support of our Research Grant, Artist in Residence, and Teacher-Ranger-Teacher programs add a margin of excellence to our park colleagues’ outstanding work.

Your philanthropy in 2016 funded Dr. Jessica Rykken from Harvard University. Dr. Rykken completed Shenandoah’s first pollinator inventory, assessing the current status of our bees and flies, and creating a system that empowers “citizen scientists” to monitor the population annually.

You also supported Dr. Christine May of James Madison University, who is surveying the health of the park’s native brook trout as it relates to changes in air and water quality.

Your philanthropy advances scientific discovery.

ENHANCE

FROM YOUR PARK

Centennial Surge

Making Music in Your Park

Shenandoah National Park Rangers welcomed 111,000 more visitors in 2016 than in the year before. This means 111,000 more people hiking trails, using campgrounds, and cruising Skyline Drive. The centennial came with no additional federal funding to support the increased demand on parks. That’s why your philanthropy is so critical. You helped support the 1.4 million visitors who came from across the country and around the world to delight in Shenandoah National Park.

Back at school, students put pen to paper to reflect on their experiences. Next, working with professional songwriters, students transformed their words into music. The collaborative songwriting process teaches teamwork and valuing ideas and emotions.

The children performed their original songs at school-wide and community-wide concerts.

The National Park Service celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2016. The nation-wide “Find Your Park” campaign contributed to a record-breaking 325 million visitors to national parks. Across the country, parks saw an average six percent increase in visitation.

Thanks to a partnership with Kid Pan Alley and the National Endowment for the Arts, your support helped to create song-writing residencies in elementary schools around the region. In each participating elementary school, the program launched with a field trip to Shenandoah National Park. For many students, it was their first time in their park.

Kid Pan Alley Students listen to the sounds of the forest.

Cycling Gets Safer New Citizens

The centennial year was the perfect occasion for Shenandoah National Park to host a naturalization ceremony—the first of its kind in your park. On July 6, Judge Michael Urbanski swore in 86 new U.S. citizens representing 33 countries (see photo at left). Thanks to the generosity of Shenandoah National Park Trust donors, we provided each new citizen with an annual park pass. Superintendent Jim Northup emphasized that as Americans, these new citizens are now co-owners and stewards of Shenandoah and all national parks.

Shenandoah National Park Trust partners and cycling enthusiasts gave generously to a crowdfunding campaign to build four bicycle repair stations along Skyline Drive.

Repair stations are now located in the parking lots of Elkwallow, Skyland, Big Meadows and Loft Mountain Waysides.

Cycling in your park got safer with 4 repair stations.

Happy Trails

In 2016, Shenandoah National Park Superintendent Jim Northup announced his retirement, ending a 36 year-career with the National Park Service. Jim was an outstanding leader of our national park and a stalwart partner of the Shenandoah National Park Trust. We wish Jim and his wife, Phyllis, a joyful next chapter.

Superintendent Jim Northup retires.

IMPACT 2017

ROCKY MOUNT FIRE: WHAT CAN WE LEARN? In April 2016, a wildfire burned over 10,000 acres in Shenandoah National Park. Firefighters from 33 states managed the fire expertly: no major injuries were sustained, no structures were damaged and the impact on wildlife was minimal.

Just weeks after the fire was out, new vegetation pushed up through the scorched earth. Today, the area is a fascinating mosaic of char and regeneration.

Your philanthropy in 2017 will support focused research on pine and oak tree recovery in the burned area, giving us a deeper understanding of park ecosystems and how to steward them responsibly.

2016 FINANCIAL POSITION TOTAL REVENUES: $1,023,576 TOTAL EXPENSES: $941,648 4%

8% 17%

9%

13%

83%

YOUR PHILANTHROPY AT WORK

59%

7%

SOURCES OF SUPPORT

Program

Donations and Grants

Fundraising

Event Income

Management

SNP License Plate Sales Realized and Unrealized Gains Investment and Dividend Income

RAPIDAN SOCIETY $25,000+

Anonymous BAND Foundation Mary Morton Parsons Foundation Merck Foundation S.L. Gimbel Foundation Fund

$10,000-$24,999

Fred* and Christine Andreae Dee and Chuck Akre BAMA Works Fund–CACF Charles Fund Steve Charles Community Endowment Fund– CACF Janet Eden* Ann and Mark Kington Max and Victoria Dreyfus Foundation Norfolk Southern Foundation Ohrstrom Foundation REI Co -op Valley Subaru Andrew* and Susan Vinisky

$5,000-$9,999

Anonymous Helen andand Ray DuBoisAldrich David* Jennifer

Fran and Tom Butterfoss Dorothy* and Jerry Canter Dave** and Susan Dallas Ed*and Joy Fuhr Terry Grant Medway Charitable Trust National Park Foundation Patrice* and Scott Neese Warren Byrd and Susan Nelson Prana Fund/CACF Bill* and Peggy Schrader West Wind Foundation Greg*and Liz Yates

$1,000-$4,999

Elizabeth and Thomas Allan Anonymous Artisan Confections Roseanne and Bill Bailey Teal Baker Jane and Charlie Barrell Don Baur*and Phebe Jensch Michelle Benecke Barbara and Matthew Black Phebe Cambata* Carl Carter* and Julie Hansen Renate Chapman Community Foundation of the Central Blue Ridge

Cox Farms Virginia, Inc. Betsy Dalgliesh Cathy and Ed Dalrymple Susan W. Davenport & W. Edgar Spigle Fund/CACF Delaware North at Shenandoah National Park Ruth and Gilbert Dix Lynn and Edward Dolnick Margaret and Greg Edwards Marian English Bunny Fewster Maureen Finnerty* E. Fletcher Construction Andrew* and Lisa Forward Nina Fout Flossie Fowlkes Shirley and Bob French Gay Street Gallery Kim Gilliam* and Lynda Mosen Great Outdoor Provision Co. Marge and Joe Grills Barbara and Mark Heller Hans Jahn Hantzmon Wiebel LLP Earl Johnson and Douglas Ward Scott Kelly Lamar Advertising of Richmond David London*

Madwoman Project - CACF Peter McIntyre MillerCoors Shenandoah Brewery Kris Monteith and Jeffrey Schmidt Diana Norris Northern Piedmont Community Foundation Northern Virginia Hiking Club Oakwood Foundation Manci and George Ohrstrom PATH Foundation Helen Penrod Perkins Coie Foundation Melanie Perl and the Mighty Mountain Mamas Patti Peterson and Kate Woodward Susan Pollart Randee and Mike Powell Monique and Bill Pritchard Peggy and Perrin Quarles Fund–CACF Nancy and Dick Raines Reston Bicycle Club Peter** and Peggy Rice RZ Foundation Andrea and Tom Salley Shack** and Jane Shackleford Skyline Tents Jocelyn and William Sladen

Shenandoah National Park Trust Board of Trustees: Current Members*, Emeriti**

Judy and Russell Smith Belinda and Craig Stevens Susan Van den Toorn Virginia Bicycling Federation Williams Mullen Foundation Well Dunn Catering Jennifer Whetzel Cheri and Martin Woodard Penny and Peter Work

SKYLINE CIRCLE $500-$999

Mimi Abel Smith Motoko Aizawa DuCard Vineyards Matthew Boyer* and Jim Edwards Georgia and Norm Brinkman Paula Howland Brosch and Kevin Brosch Betti Brown and Bob Ramsey Maggie* and Nick Bullard Harry Byrd Addeane Caelleigh and William Olson Jack and Page Carter Community Foundation of Harrisonburg-Rockingham Evie and Reynolds Cowles Crutchfield Corporation

Helen and Ray Dubois Jane Erwine Exxon Mobil Corporation Wendy Fewster* Pat and Bob Foster Freestyle Harriet and Ben Giles Grand Classroom Carol and Ernie Hueter Huffman Family Fund, Short-Term–CACF Anne Holton and Tim Kaine Inn at Willow Grove Emily Larkin and Michael Kendrick Anne and Mark Logan Elizabeth Meyer Middle Street Gallery Hullihen Moore** Matt Murray Stephen* and Terry Nauss Hoa Nguyen Roberta and William Nixon Phyllis and Jim Northup Taylor Odom* and Christina Luke Thom Pellikaan Page and Scott Peyton Richard Piccolo Susan and John Pritchard

Dianne and Jeb Sanford Amy and James Shirk Sierra Club Potomac Region Outings Silicon Valley Community Foundation Debbie and Chris Smith Sparo Corporation Cheryl and Tom Thorpe Tiger Fuel Company Rebecca Trafton** Maggie and Rod Walker Beppy White

RANGER CLUB

Sarita Bhargava Maggie* and Nick Bullard Beth and Paul Cantrell Mary Hubbard Clark Hap Connors* and Carey Chirico Ruth and Gilbert Dix Wendy Fewster* Niccolo Fiorentino and Allison Spain Beryl Gilmore Joyce Harman Edward Kaska Larry Lacina Taylor Odom* and Christina Luke

Taylor and Bill Randolph Raymond Scruggs Elaine and Donald Sherman Susan Sherman*and Larry Garretson Carolyn Smith Lois Wallenhorst and Syd Knight RANGER CLUB donors make recurring contributions (monthly/ quarterly) to support their park

SHENANDOAH LEGACY SOCIETY Phebe Cambata* Janet Eden* Frances Lipscomb Hodges Robert Hodges Susanne Hubrig Phillip Hubrig Susan Vinisky Andrew Vinisky* Anne Strickland

SHENANDOAH LEGACY SOCIETY donors pledge to support their park in their estate planning

OUR MOST IMPORTANT PARTNER—YOU Your philanthropic investment in the Trust funds critical programs and initiatives. It also enables our park to receive additional federal funding only available with matching funds from the private sector. Very often, we leverage your gift dollar-for-dollar, doubling the impact of your philanthropy. Each and every donor is central to our success.

Susan Sherman, President

Gifts included in this list were received on or before December 31, 2016

The Shenandoah National Park Trust 404 Eighth Street NE, Suite D Charlottesville, VA 22902 www.snptrust.org | 434.293.2728

The Shenandoah National Park Trust is an official partner of the National Park Service.

PHOTO CREDITS: David Anhold Sam Dean Dan Farrell Denise Machado National Park Service Cheryl Toth/Kid Pan Alley Skyland in Shenandoah National Park

COVER PHOTO: Hawk flying over Hawksbill Mountain, Shenandoah National Park - Dan Farrell.